Rounders is 20 years old this week
We recap some stories you may have missed including a poker player returns to a game show and the latest from the Poker Masters.
Rounders is 20 years old
While online poker and Chris Moneymaker certainly lit the fuse for the poker boom, there is no doubt that the movie Rounders inspired hundreds of thousands of people to try their hand at the game.
The movie celebrated its 20th anniversary this week, as it was first released on September 11, 1998 (An interesting piece of trivia is that it shares a birthday with PokerStars which launched on September 11, 2001).
Not only were poker fans reminiscing about the movie, popular podcaster Bill Simmons reminded us that its appeal went way beyond card players:
The Rewatchables: ‘Rounders,” 20 years later with me and @SeanFennessey ... is this the greatest gambling movie ever? Welcome to the Chesterfield South.https://t.co/LRqWlviyLB
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) September 11, 2018
The movie's creator Brian Koppelman also took to Twitter to answer fan questions:
Okay, folks. Ask Me Anything for next half hour, and I will answer. Rounders came out 20 years ago today. All of you have been so nice to us about it. So fire away. Ask about making Billions. Or creativity. Or podcasting. Or writing or whatever you want.
— Brian Koppelman (@briankoppelman) September 12, 2018
Alex Jacob returns to Jeopardy
In 2015 poker fans had a feel good story as former professional player Alex Jacob went on to be one of the most successful contestants ever on game show Jeopardy.
The story will continue as this week he revealed he will be returning for an All Star Game.
GUYS. I’m gonna be on #JeopardyAllStarGames!
So honored to be part of this unique moment in @Jeopardy history with this elite group of champions!
I can’t thank you all enough for your awesome support, which I have no doubt helped make this happen. ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ https://t.co/bTlLBuyt3W
— Alex Jacob (@whoisalexjacob) September 11, 2018
Here is a reminder of what Jacob was like crushing the show in 2015:
Ike wins the Short Deck
The Poker Masters rolls on and while Brandon Adams remains in the lead, maybe the most notable win so far came from Isaac Haxton, not because he won but because of the format.
Haxton is the latest player to win a Short Deck Poker event, after the format (which may be coming to PokerStars) made its debut on the poker series, which is being streamed on PokerGO. Ike won it for $176,000, beating Maurice Hawkins heads-up.
He is currently in 2nd place in the rankings for that 'Purple Jacket', with the $100,000 Main Event starting tonight.
The first Short Deck event in #PokerMasters history went to Isaac Haxton.
Recap @ikepoker's win here and then watch the rest of the high stakes series only on @PokerGO! https://t.co/0GzYpCaRwK pic.twitter.com/KlIukUKTDT— Poker Central (@PokerCentral) September 12, 2018
Never celebrate early
Finally, Felix Schneiders reminded us why you should never celebrate early in this game (kudos for him for not spitting his cereal out over his web cam):
Is Rounders the best poker movie? Let us know in the comments:
